Bramhope green belt campaigner will be ‘greatly missed’

The head of the local Conservative party has paid a heartfelt tribute to Councillor Clive Fox.

Bramhope resident Coun Fox, a Leeds City Councillor since 2000 and a longstanding member of Arthington and Bramhope and Carlton Parish Councils, died last week.

Chairman of Leeds North West Conservatives Gerard Francis said his colleague and friend would be badly missed by many people in Wharfedale and beyond.

He said: “Clive was a good friend of mine for more than 40 years. He was a passionate environmental campaigner, serving for a number of years as chairman of the Leeds branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which is where he met his wife, Diane.

“Both were members of the Pudsey Dishforth Motorway Action Group, fighting the proposed motorway to the west of Leeds.

“Right up to his death he was fighting to protect the green belt from housing development.

“Clive was somewhat of an unconventional character – eccentric with a dry sense of humour, appearance was of no concern to him.

“He was always very careful about money and tried very hard not to spend any! Visits to the outdoor market in Leeds to look for bargains were a must.

“He did not suffer fools gladly but was a very good friend to have and he will be sorely missed.

“My condolences to Diane and his children, Mark and Lindsay.”

Mr Francis, a former Otley Town and city councillor who is standing in this year’s local elections, recalled that Coun Fox had once run a children’s clothing manufacturing business in Huddersfield but retrained as an accountant after a disastrous fire ended the venture.

He said: “For most of the rest of his working life he was the company secretary at Charles F Stead tanners at Sheepscar, Leeds.”

Looking back on his friend’s long political career, he added: “Clive was very much a political animal, first serving for a number of years on the West Yorkshire County Council where he chaired the technical services committee.

“In 2000 he was elected to serve as councillor for Otley & Wharfedale until 2004, when boundary changes saw him elected for the Adel & Wharfedale ward.

“He served on the council’s development plan panel and a number of scrutiny boards and on the footpaths and rights of way committee, and served for more than 25 years on both Bramhope and Carlton and Arthington Parish Councils.

“He was very knowledgeable on all planning matters and a lot of the research and preparation for the Bramhope Conservation Area was carried out by Clive.”

A memorial service is to be held for Bramhope councillor Clive Fox – but not until after the local elections.

His wife Diane said the decision not to let the memorial interfere with campaigning would have been exactly what her husband would have wanted.

“There will be a memorial service but not until after the elections,” she said.

“He was a politician to the end and he would not want to interfere with people delivering their leaflets, or with me delivering the leaflets.

“It was Clive’s turn to stand this time, so we are going to have a new candidate. I shall be working hard for the new candidate because I know Clive would have wanted that.”

A private funeral will be held on Tuesday with the public memorial service expected to take place after the elections in May.

Mrs Fox said she had been touched by the tributes across the political divide which had flowed in for her husband, who had died at the age of 69. “Everybody has been very kind and we have had wonderful tributes,” she said. “It seems he had a lot of friends.”

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